Jaria - What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been
by Shatman
Summary: Jason and Aria had a crush on one another before Queen Bee Alison DiLaurentis went missing. A year and a half will pass and they begin running into one another a little too often. Will they reconcile and survive the obstacles? Each chapter is named after a specific song. I highly recommend checking those songs out while reading. Thanks for reading! x -Shoon. Jason/Aria.
1. Smells Like Teen Spirit

Loud, cheerful laughter filled the warm summer air, but was soon over-powered by the intense shouts created by none other than Jason DiLaurentis. Alison came from the wooded area at a quick pace, Jason closely following behind.

"Dammit Alison, come here! Come here, HEY!" Jason's tone was harsh and his handsome face had an angered expression written across it. He gripped the tanned arm of his sister and spun her around, so the siblings were now facing one another. "Stop messing with my stuff, alright? You and the Powerpuff Girls just stay out of my room." Jason began up the porch steps, but stopped abruptly as Alison's question sprung from her pale, pink lips.

"What are you afraid I'd find in there?" Alison rolled her crystal blue eyes, which followed Jason as he began his journey up the porch steps.

"Look, just stop messing with people." He gave her an intense look full of loathing, before once again turning around and taking one more step up the various porch steps.

"No challenge with you and your little stoner buddies. All you need is something shiny on a piece of string," Alison snapped as she flipped her hair and folded her long arms. The various girls watching the scene all snickered at Alison's response, causing Jason to grow even more furious. His eye's met with one of the chuckling females, Aria Montgomery, which caused her to grow slightly pink in the face while quickly turning her head away from the strange boy. Turning around, Jason extended a hand for the doorknob as Alison's final words boomed throughout the air: "Watch him, ladies. He's got trouble with doorknobs." Aggressively turning the knob, Jason entered the dimly lit and fully furnished house and slammed the door behind him, causing him to disappear from sight. Smirking to herself, Alison slowly began to strut toward her group of friends that occupied the front yard.

"What's wrong with Jason?" Aria asked curiously, her face now back to it's original pale color.

"He just thinks I stole one of his Japanese cartoon porn books," Alison replied, chuckling softly.

"Did you?" Hanna asked, her brows rising.

"Of course I did." A wide smirk once again stretched across Alison's beautifully structured face.

"Aren't you afraid he's going to rip apart your room?" Emily questioned in amazement.

"Won't do him any good. I have hiding places all over the house." Flipping her hair, Alison plopped down onto the grassy terrain. "The yard too. When I hide something, it stays hid; Until I want it found." The rest of the girls looked at one another curiously; what objects could Alison possibly need to keep hidden? "That's why your secrets are all so safe with me." Grinning, she eyed her friends and jumped slightly as a loud 'CRASH' was heard from within the house. They all turned to face the area, but Alison quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, are we all still on for tomorrow? You know, Fourth of July shenanigans?"

Spencer shrugged nonchalantly and nodded firmly. "Yeah, we're all meeting at Emily's at around six." Suddenly, they all began whispering softly and talking with excited tones about their plans for tomorrow. Aria, however, had her attention on Alison's house where Jason had entered only moments ago. Slowly standing, Aria traveled across the lawn and entered the vibrant red victorian house. Heavy metal music instantly filled her ears; it was booming from Jason's bedroom. Aria carefully walked through the living room and into the brightly lit kitchen, only to nearly stumble over Jason himself, who was on his hands and knees cleaning remains from a broken glass plate.

"Oh - sorry." The pink singed her face once more and she looked down into the hazel eyes of Alison's older brother. He didn't utter a single word and instead turned his attention to the shattered glass. Aria awkwardly opened the refrigerator which was filled with alcoholic beverages, probably belonging to Jason, and a few bottles of water. She gripped onto the ice cold bottle and was about to exit the kitchen when he spoke.

"Hey, Aria."

She spun around rather fast and raised her brows. "Yeah?"

"Would you mind sliding over that garbage can?" He raised a hand to point to a small, black cylinder that stood in the darkened corner. Trying not to look disappointed, she did what he asked and he nodded in thanks. Seconds later, Aria exited the kitchen, this time with no interruptions. She wasn't sure what she had expected; Jason was Alison's older, mysterious brother who rarely left his darkened bedroom. Arriving back into the brightly lit yard, Aria noticed Spencer's long mane of straight, brown hair disappear behind a collection of trees, along with Hanna.

Alison's perfectly curled hair whipped around and her voice sounded incredibly snarky when Aria arrived behind her. Almost as if Alison had read Aria's mind, she answered her unasked question. "As usual, Spencer doesn't agree with me on _anything_. Where the hell were you anyway?"

In response, Aria held up the now dripping water bottle and twisted the cap, causing water to leak rapidly all over her hand. "I should probably get going too. My parent's are having this dinner party and I promised I'd help set up." Before she could manage to walk away, Alison grabbed a hold of her pale arm.

"Aria, if you don't tell your mom, I promise you, I will."

"What? Ali, why are you doing this? Thing's are going fine. My dad promised me he would never -"

"I knew he'd manage to talk you out of it. It's been months, Aria. And if she doesn't find out from you, she _will _find out from somebody else. You wouldn't want that, would you?" Emily gave a questioning look at the pair and stood from her seat on the soft grass.

"What's going on with your mom and dad?"

"Don't worry about it," Aria snapped. At that moment, she looked up at the DiLaurentis house and noticed Jason looking at the scene. Spinning around, Aria tucked a loose strand of black caught in-between a pink highlight and started up the paved street, a single tear silently sliding down her cheek.

Six o' clock the next night arrived slowly for the five girls. Anticipation built up and time seemed to be passing ever so slow. Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily were all looking at the now ticking clock; it was now a quarter to seven and Alison had not yet arrived at Emily's. Within another five minutes, Alison swiftly moved into the pale yellow bedroom, the door shutting a little too loudly behind her.

"It's about time you show up. I – we, were starting to get worried," Emily softly uttered before looking around at the other girls.

"What? Oh... I was just doing a few things." Alison had a knowing sort of smirk written across her face and flung her soft hair behind her shoulder. "So, shall we get dressed ladies? I was thinking we'd hit up a frat party."

The last time the group of girls had spent their night at a frat party, a woman was pushed down a flight of stairs and Spencer's sister's boyfriend was found near the scene of the crime; however, nothing could ever be proven. Alison had dragged the group to the party and provided them with fake I.D's, but had strangely disappeared for the amount of time spent at the party.

Within moments loud music was bouncing off the walls as the girls all began undressing and attempting to put together an attractive attire. Suddenly, as Alison was looking in the mirror she angrily shouted. "I can see you!" Hurrying toward the window, she hit it hard, but not hard enough to damage it. Whoever it was vanished the second the other girls wandered toward the window. "Oh my god, I can't believe it!"

Emily had flipped the music off completely and cocked her head to it's side. "What was it Ali, what did you see?"

"He was in that tree spying on us! I am so creeped out!" She folded her arms and bit down on her lip.

Aria and Spencer exchanged a look of confusion. "Who was it?" Spencer asked.

"It was that perv Toby Cavanaugh!"

"Are you sure? Should we go and tell somebody?" Aria looked back at Emily's closed door and back at Alison.

"And I bet he saw us all naked." Alison contemplated Aria's question for a moment before answering. "I mean, we could... But I have a better idea." Smirking, she rammed open the bedroom door and whispered, "Spencer, bring the lighter." Spencer grabbed a hold of the small lighter she kept within her own bag and watched Alison delve an arm into her perfectly neat bag, retrieving an object the girl's could not see.

Minutes passed, and the group found themselves walking through the small wooded area next to Emily's house. Fireworks boomed enthusiastically over-head and they walked in silence until Aria gained enough courage to speak. "Are we sure he's not in there?" She pointed a slim finger toward the abandoned shed that Alison referred to as Toby's hideout, which he used frequently to spy on the female neighbors.

"He's not, okay?" Alison snapped, turning her focus toward a slightly frightened looking Spencer and Emily. "You got the lighter, right Spencer?"

"Yeah..." Spencer muttered, clearly debating whether or not she should suggest returning to Emily's house.

"Let's wait a second." Emily gripped onto Alison's arm and frowned.

"What, Emily?"

"I don't want to do this."

"Fine, go back, you're on your own." The rest of the girl's stopped walking altogether at this point and each exchanged a worrisome look; all except Alison.

"Okay, maybe Emily's right. We should just call the cops, they'll take him in and they'll take care of it." Aria quickly muttered. She had a horrible feeling about this.

"Where's the fun in that?" For some reason, Alison sounded satisfied and she wore the smirk the rest of the girl's knew only too well. "Girls, Toby Cavanaugh is a freak! And we need to teach him a lesson. If he thinks he can go and spy on us, in your bedroom Emily, he needs to know that his domain is no longer a safe little hideout. I mean, who knows what he does in there all day, that little freak." She nearly snarled as she finished her sentence.

"Are you sure that it was Toby?" Spencer replied uncertainly.

"Yes! And it's a stink bomb for gods sake, we're not nuking the place! Now let's do it!" Alison continued the journey toward the odd looking shed and quietly edged the door open. "Give me the lighter."

Spencer stood rooted in her spot and contemplated for a moment; under Alison's harsh stare, Spencer let out a small sigh and extended her frail arm, the lighter in hand. She quickly grasped the little black object, but concealed the actual object she was to light up. The fire light illuminated under the dark sky, as the fireworks were currently at rest for the time being. Alison looked inside the pitch black shed and only saw tons of clutter – or so the girls thought. Once the object was thrown inside, Alison bolted away and tugged the nearest of the girl's arm. "Let's get out of here!"

They all sprinted up the paved driveway and screeched when they heard an explosion behind them. At the end of the driveway leading away from the shed, they saw the building in flames.

"Ali, what the hell did you do?" Spencer screamed, her small brown eyes widening into perfect circles. They all exchanged nervous glances.

"We have to get out of here!" Hanna bellowed, yanking Aria's arm.

"Come on, let's go!" Emily squealed.

Hours later, the five girl's found themselves shaking in Spencer's living room. They were wrong; the building was not unoccupied. Jenna Marshall Cavanaugh was inside the shed and had nearly died. The trauma she suffered had caused her to become blind. However, they had not been arrested or anything due to Alison getting Toby Cavanaugh to take the fall for his step-sister's accident. Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer all felt extremely guilty for several reasons; Alison, however, never got along with Jenna Marshall, therefore did not feel as awful as she probably should.

Almost the whole neighborhood rushed outside to get a good view on the tragic fire and the police and firemen running rapidly around the area. Alison's house was only a few blocks away and Jason along with the people attending his party, all hopped inside their cars to see the giant commotion. Aria had been hiding in the nearby woods along with the other girls, when she swore she saw Jason looking her way – almost as if he knew.

"You guys, this is bad, like really bad!" Hanna mumbled, before shoving a giant brownie down her throat.

"Everything has been taken care of," Snapped Alison, and she eyed the giant tray of junk food that occupied the table in front of Hanna. "Listen here Hefty Hanna, if you _ever _utter a single word about this, you'll pay." Seeing Hanna's expression of disbelief, she continued. "Dammit, Hanna. Don't make me sorry I ever included you in the first place! You know, I have gone out of my fucking way to make your big wannabe butt into this group. You better keep your mouth shut! Unless you want to go back to spending your weekend's alone with Dance Dance Revolution and a jumbo bag of chips."

"Ali, stop it!" Aria cried, looking at Hanna's now watery eyes. Throwing herself off the sofa, she ran toward the nearest bathroom. Instead of apologizing, Alison just rolled her pale eyes and looked at the rest of the girls. "I guess I better go intrude my sick and twisted brother's party and get my things."

"Why don't I go?" Aria asked quickly, causing Alison and Spencer's eyebrows to rise, as Emily ushered toward the bathroom to check on Hanna. "I need to get my book that I left at your place anyway." Aria felt a pang of guilt as she lied to her friends, but she was curious as to what Jason's party's were really like.

"Cool. Just don't take too damn long, the Chinese food should be here soon." Alison responded and flew onto the plush and extremely expensive couch that stood in front of a beautifully structured fireplace. Aria nodded and practically ran toward the back door, floated across the carefully mowed lawn and onto the cobbled pathway through the wood's that led to Alison's house.

Aria was slightly surprised to see the DiLaurentis house was completely dark, almost as if not a soul were home. However, loud music burst from behind the walls and two college men who she had not recognized were smoking on the large porch. She noticed them wiggle their brows at one another and she swallowed hard as she turned the doorknob and found herself inside a foggy hallway, the smell of alcohol strongly inhabiting it. Only seeing a few more strangers, she shrugged nonchalantly and slowly walked up the staircase. Alison's bedroom door remained closed and Aria entered; the room smelt of expensive perfume and flowers. Aria scrunched her nose and began searching for random articles of clothing that Alison would need for staying the night.

"Looking for something?" Jason asked, stepping out from the dimly lit hallway and into the bedroom, which was bursting with light.

Aria jumped and dropped the makeup bag she was preparing to place inside a small bag located on Alison's vibrant electric blue armchair. "O-Oh, Jason. You scared me." Chuckling nervously, she bent down to retrieve the bag. "Yeah, we're all staying at Spencer's tonight."

"And what, the Princess couldn't grab her own shit?" He took a long gulp of the newly opened beer that was gripped firmly in his hand. "Well, Ian will sure be disappointed."

"I-Ian? Melissa's Ian?" Aria tilted her head and examined the mysterious boy who stood before her.

"Sure." He reached for Aria's hand, but only so he could place the beer in it. "Drink that. You seem... like you had a rough night."

Aria looked down at the bottle and opened her mouth, but words failed to pour out. As Jason spun around to exit the room, she managed to utter: "Rough night is an understatement." He adjusted his head so their eyes met and he grinned.

"There's plenty more where that came from. Follow me."

Aria smiled toothily and grabbed the bag she was to take to back to Spencer's, but didn't head toward the front door; instead, she found herself wandering after Jason, who wound up in the empty kitchen, smoke still surrounding the bottom floor. A few guys whistled as she passed, but Jason turned around and gave them a piercing look, which made them all go back to minding their own business. "Sorry about them. Some of them have just had way too much to drink. Not that their sober personalities are much better." Aria had quickly consumed the substance he had given her upstairs and allowed him to hand her another. A few drinks later and Aria found all her troubles slipping away rapidly. She had accidentally knocked over Alison's bag and both her and Jason bent down to retrieve it. Their drunken eyes met and before she knew what she was doing, their lips met. Coming back to reality, Aria and Jason both backed away at the same moment and she quickly stood and flung the bag overs her arm. Her face was burning and she gulped hard, before spinning on her heel and rushing toward the door. "I b-better go." She flung herself outside and sped down the path rapidly. She found herself inside Spencer's living room within minutes and plopped down onto the sofa beside Hanna instantly.

"Where have you been? And where's Alison?" Spencer asked and her eyes began examining Aria up and down.

"Alison? She was here when I left..." Placing a large amount of Chinese food on her fork, she shoved the delicious meal into her mouth and felt as if she were basking in the tragically beautiful moonlight.

"She said – Great, she probably left us for some stupid boy."

"I wouldn't put it past her." After devouring the exquisite food, Aria had quickly fallen asleep not too long after and the three others followed pursuit.

The next morning, Aria had awoken with a pounding headache and a terrible stomach ache. She looked around the room to see the girls, now accompanied by Alison, passed out at various places in Spencer's bedroom. The frequent vibrations coming from her cellphone had woken her up and she quickly began gathering her items; her father said there was a family emergency and he would be picking her up in ten minutes. Aria quickly scribbled a note about her whereabouts and the second she opened the back door, she nearly walked right into Jason DiLaurentis. "Jason.. What are you doing here? Alison is still asleep if-?

"I'm not here to talk to Alison. I'm actually here to talk to you. You got a minute?"

"No, I don't. My dad will be here any second. But listen, you don't need to worry about it. I didn't mention _it_ to the other girls. And I especially won't be telling Alison any time soon."

"Oh, right. Yeah, good. I just didn't want things to be awkward between us. I mean, you practically live at my house." He flashed a small smile and ran a hand through his floppy, light brown hair.

"Right.. I'll see you around Jason." Grinning in return, Aria slipped passed him and hopped into her father's car. In the rear-view mirror, she could just make out Jason walking home and she felt a frown creep onto her pale face.


	2. Negative Creep

Aria Montgomery was driving along the smooth, paved road leading to the local park when the radio flickered on with an announcement; Ian Thomas is still considered missing and if anyone had any sort of information, they should immediately contact their local authorities. Rolling her doe-like eyes, Aria quickly changed the station and began to reflect on the various events that took place in the last year and a half; her best friend and queen bee Alison DiLaurentis had went missing and the body wasn't discovered until a few weeks ago. In the days leading up to the discovery, a strange person began sending Aria and her three friends text messages, which threatened to reveal all their secrets. Each message was labeled -A, which caused the girls to believe it was Alison playing a game – that is, until her body was discovered in her old backyard. Quickly shaking her head, she began to focus on the road rather intensely. She just wanted to get her mind off things.

Ten minutes later, Aria found herself pulling into the large park's parking lot. She swung her bag over her shoulder and marched toward the basketball courts, where she allowed her eyes to roam in order to find her younger brother, Mike, so she could give him his key's to their beautiful victorian style home. Her eye's met with a familiar pair of hazel eyes; the eyes belonged to none other than Jason DiLaurentis, who held a basketball in hand and stood shirtless in the middle of a court. He watched her for a moment before returning to his basketball hoop and Aria quickly turned her attention to a nearby boy who from behind looked similar to Mike, but turned out to just be another random stranger. Biting down on her lip, she was about to ask a nearby group of guys if they had seen her brother, but a basketball softly tapped her cobalt blue boots. Bending down to retrieve it, she looked up to see the owner jogging over; Jason.

Jason extended his muscular arms and Aria handed him the newly pumped ball. "Hey," Aria murmured shyly, attempting to avoid the beautiful eyes that seemed to look into her soul each time she looked into them.

"Hey," Jason replied in return, seemingly looking the eccentric girl up and down.

"You haven't seen my brother, have you?" Her hair violently swayed in the cool breeze and it took a great amount of effort to keep it in place.

"Um, no. Sorry. Did he give you the slip?" His voice was very deep and extremely seductive which caused Aria to instantly avoid looking at him all together.

"Something like that."

"Yeah, I was always lying about where I was when I was his age." Aria looked up at him as he spoke; she felt rude avoiding his presence. "I don't remember a lot about that time, actually. Most of what I do remember I wish I could forget, you know?" Feeling awkward, Aria decided to just nod in response. "You know what I do remember? Your pink hair."

"Really?" Aria looked at Jason curiously and responded in a surprised tone.

"I thought it was cool."

"Really?" Her brows raised so high, they could have disappeared all together.

"Really. I mean, you... you always did the unexpected, opposed to me. Which, I also thought was cool." Aria tucked a loose strand of dark-brown hair behind her ear and grinned toothily. "Well, uh..." Jason raised the ball and began walking back to the other desolate basketball court, but spun around a few feet away. "Hey – I miss that pink hair." Aria turned a light shade of pink and Jason smiled warmly in return. When he was a safe distance away, Aria cast him a suspicious glance, bit down on her lip and retreated to her car.

"What the hell do you mean Jason is back in town?" Spencer's voice bellowed into Aria's ear, through the cellular device she held within her hand. "God, the last thing we need is him lurking about. Just knowing he resides in the house next to mine makes me want to drown myself in steaming coffee. And why exactly would he go back to the house his sister's body was found behind?" Spencer spoke fast and worriedly and Aria had the strangest feeling Spencer was standing beside her window, attempting to spy on Jason.

"Look, he's probably just looking for some sort of closure.." Aria barely was able to mutter, before the doorbell had rung and she stood from the comfy sofa that occupied her living room.

"Just make sure you stay away from him, Aria. He's dangerous."

"It's not like I'll be seeing -" Aria began, but the visitor at her doorway immensely surprised her. Once again, she had met the very person Spencer was speaking of. "J-Jason?" She tilted her head to her side and quickly whispered into the phone, "I have to go." Aria lowered the phone and could just hear Spencer screech "He's at your house?" before hanging up. At that moment, Mike Montgomery nearly pushed Aria down in order to run past her and clamber up the staircase. "Mike? Hey!" Aria shouted, but it was too late; Mike had already slammed his bedroom door.

"He tried breaking into my house. Well, he never got in, actually. I caught him at the window." Jason replied, in regards to Aria's look of utter bewilderment. "The house was dark, so I'm guessing he thought nobody was home." Aria looked back at the staircase and then turned her attention to the attractive male standing at her front door.

Releasing a soft sigh, Aria frowned and shook her head in disbelief. "I'm so sorry. He's never done anything like this before." Jason looked down at her and both pairs of hazel eyes once again met for a few awkward moments, before Aria continued. "But, thank you... for not calling the police."

"Don't worry about it." He ran a hand through his floppy, dark-blonde hair.

"I really don't know what to tell you. Look, if I tell my parents they are going to flip out. But if I don't, he's -"

"No, don't. He knows he's been busted." Jason gave Aria a sort of intense look and she looked down at the slightly muddy porch.

"Um.. Why didn't you? Call the police..."

Swallowing hard, Jason responded slowly. "I've seen enough cops at my house for one year."

"Right.." Aria nodded firmly and bit down on her rouged lip. "Anyway, thanks. Thanks again."

"Yeah." After a few more seconds of an intense stare, Aria smiled quickly, but softly and closed the door after muttering the word "bye." However, Aria did not realize Jason had not immediately left her porch once the door was closed; he had stood there for a minute or so, slightly flustered by her beauty.

A week had passed since Aria's last sighting of Jason DiLaurentis and the week was full of tragedy and mayhem. Aria, Hanna, Spencer and Emily had followed Melissa Hastings, Spencer's sister, to an abandoned house a few towns over; hearing a scream, the girl's ran after Melissa, only to find Ian Thomas's dead corpse laying shamelessly on the hard ground, with a giant bullet wound through his head, a gun within his motionless hand and a suicide note. The note claimed he had killed himself and Ian also confessed to murdering Alison DiLaurentis. Aria was currently at the funeral, where she wore a beautiful silk, puffy black gown that reached down to her pale knees. She edged away from her friends and noticed Jason sitting on a bench that resided in-between two large tombstones, where she began to slowly walk, until her old English teacher and current ex boyfriend, Ezra Fitz, grabbed a hold of her arm.

"Can we _please _talk about this?" Ezra pleaded, attempting to make Aria look into his crystal blue eyes.

"There's nothing to talk about, Ezra. And let _go _of me!" She hissed, snatching her arm away from him and stampeding away across the grassy terrain. She eventually found a beautifully landscaped path that led directly to the bench Jason silently and sadly sat upon. Aria turned around and made sure her friends were busy, then carefully walked over to him.

"Hey." Aria sweetly greeted.

"Hey." Jason squinted up at her through the sunlight and back down. His floppy hair flew around speedily, due to the harsh wind.

"Thanks again for helping my brother out." Jason just nodded in response and played with his own hands. "Why are you so willing to give my brother a free pass?"

"I don't know." He leaned forward slightly and looked up at her. "Maybe it's because Ali used to always threaten to turn me in all the time." Aria smoothed out her dress before steadily floating down onto the concrete, but extraordinarily carved bench. Jason once again turned his focus toward the perfectly mowed grass and balled up his hands together.

"Did she ever?"

At the question, Jason cast a sideways glance at the girl and shook his head. "Ali was too smart for that. Even as a kid." Aria smiled softly as she listened to his words; it was a strange feeling, talking to him about her previous best friend, but not necessarily bad. "She was fearless, when she needed to be." He flipped his hair and frowned. "I was always jealous of that – of her." Jason swallowed hard and avoided Aria's large eyes. "I guess that's why my parents can't even look at me anymore. They know that they lost the wrong kid."

"Don't say that." Aria placed a reassuring hand on Jason's shoulder and didn't allow her stare to leave him. Jason continued to look extremely upset and she opened her mouth various times to speak, but couldn't think of the correct words to say. It took several minutes of silence, until she finally managed to gather her thoughts. "Look..." She sighed heavily. "Maybe you coming here today was a mistake."

"Just the opposite, actually." Jason finally said, now sitting up tall and taking in a deep breath. "You have no idea how good it feels to know it wasn't me."Aria furrowed her brows and he continued. "I don't remember a thing, from the night Ali died. I blacked out and woke up the next morning with a wicked hangover and –"Jason looked at Aria for a moment and contemplated his thoughts. Finally deciding he could trust the girl, he reached into his leather pocket and revealed a small, folded note that looked rather old. Taking the note, Aria opened it and whispered aloud the words it contained.

"'I know what you did'... W – Who gave you this? What does this mean?"

Biting the inside of his cheek and shaking his head once, Jason shrugged. "I don't know, but it almost destroyed me."

"You thought that _you _killed her?"

"Like I said, I was jealous. And when I got loaded, I got angry. But... Ian's confession has changed everything. He did it. Not me." Aria sat there in silence for a moment before awkwardly clearing her throat. Thankfully, at that moment, Aria's mother called for her on the opposite side of the cemetery.

"I better... go." Before Jason could even open his mouth to speak, Aria was already bustling along the short grass.

"Where the hell were you yesterday?" Hanna asked, merely seconds after Aria entered Emily's bedroom.

"What? Oh... Ezra showed up. We were talking for awhile." She lied through clenched teeth and began to chew on the inside of her cheek.

"I'm glad you two are back together." Spencer grinned, folding the programs for the fashion show rather erratically. "It's funny how all four of has have boyfriends – and a girlfriend, at the same time." Spencer looked up at the other three and her eyes widened when she realized they stopped folding. "You guys! These were supposed to be in yesterday! Keep folding!" She snapped, throwing more unfolded programs at the three girls. Aria stayed silent at Spencer's comment and rolled her eyes jokingly as she accepted the papers. After multiple had been folded correctly, her phone began to buzz; Jason was calling. She swallowed hard and Spencer looked up at her. "Aria, you're only allowed to answer that phone if it's Ezra." Wiggling her brows suggestively, Aria smiled weakly and looked down at her black cell phone. The message read: 'Do you have a minute? -Jason.'

"Hey guys," Aria began and each head looked upward, "I'll be right back. I just have to answer... Ezra." Walking out the door, Aria quickly responded to Jason and exited the Field's household. Jason's extremely shiny and seemingly new car rolled silently down the street and parked across the way. Her boot heels slapped noisily against the pavement as she ushered toward the vehicle. "Hey. What's up?" Aria panted slightly as she spoke; she had not realized she walked so quickly.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Jason pointed at the seat beside him and watched her quickly glance at Emily's house, then enter. He had been regretting telling her the information he had at Ian's funeral, due to most of her friends finding him to be strange – and not the good kind. Sighing heavily, he began.

"Look... I said some things after Ian's funeral that I probably should have kept to myself."

"I thought that you felt better knowing that Ian had..."

"So was I, but I don't want people getting the wrong idea, you know?"

Shaking her head, Aria responded quietly. "I won't say a word. Plus the way you handled things with my brother... I kind of own you one. Anyway, I should probably get back. We're uh... folding programs for the fashion show."

"Ahhh. My mom got in yesterday. One final speech before she steps down from the board."

"And to think, I thought Jessica DiLaurentis _was_ the board." Aria chuckled softly and nodded her head. "Yeah, she took us all to lunch earlier today. She insists we wear Alison's dresses at the fashion show next week."

"I'm not surprised. Anyway, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." Grinning toothily, Jason extended a hand and tuned the radio that Aria had not noticed was softly playing in the car.

"Tomorrow?" Aria cocked her head to the side and examined him carefully. "What's tomorrow?"

"Your mom didn't tell you? Oh, well, she invited me to the dinner party tomorrow night. Should be.. interesting."

Aria gulped and flashed a quick smile. "Oh. Well, I guess I will see you tomorrow than." Opening the passenger door, she basked across the street and vanished into the darkness. Jason's eyes watched her disappear into the night and smiled softly as he began his journey home.

Her phone buzzed a second time, but this time it was from an unwanted recipient:

"**I spy a liar. Break the news to your BFF's, before some else does. -A"**

Jason lowered his gorgeous face to kiss Aria's pale neck. She let out a soft moan at the incredible feeling and felt his lips sliding up her neck. "You just can't stop thinking about me, can you?" He whispered and with that, Aria gasped causing herself to awake immediately. Her alarm clock was beeping at the highest possible volume and she felt her cheeks grow warm. Smacking her alarm clock, she sat in bed for a few moments, until her mother came into the room and told her she better begin getting ready for tonight. Giving a weak nod, Aria clambered out of bed and hopped into the steamy shower.

Five o' clock came around a little too fast for Aria's liking. She had just gotten off the phone with Emily, who was throwing words of caution around like it were going out of style. Checking her elegantly curled locks and eye-catching make-up, she hurried to her eccentric clothing filled closet and yanked out a sexy yet charming black dress, that was incredibly tight and showed her curves rather well. Aria slipped on her signature stockings and her midnight black heels, with shiny spikes aligning the heel. She spun around and gave herself a reassuring smile and nodded firmly, before descending the staircase. Minutes later, the married couple Elliot and Nancy Partha filed into the dimly lit living room.

"If you ever need a babysitter, you should call me." Aria smiled, attempting to make polite conversation. The doorbell rang and Ella Montgomery opened the oak door; it was Ezra Fitz. Aria's eyes widened as she heard his voice and swallowed hard. Turning around, she noticed him flash a boyish smile toward her parents and hand them a bottle of fine wine. The trio entered the kitchen, when the doorbell rang for a second time. Opening the door, the visitor was revealed to be Jason. He wore a lovely fitted suit and presented a beautiful bouquet that smelled absolutely divine.

"Hey," Aria softly greeted, her eye's continuously looking the handsome man up and down. "Come in."

Jason certainly could not deny how simply gorgeous she looked in her attire; although, he always thought that of Aria. He attempted concealing his large grin and entered when Aria edged to the side. "Sorry I'm late." Carefully handing Aria the flowers, he ran a hand through his seemingly combed hair.

"No, it's fine." Accepting the flowers, she lowered her face so the scent would become stronger and she beamed. "Thanks." From the corner of her eye, she noticed Ezra Fitz cast a suspicious glance and allowed Jason to sweep past her and join the conversation now being held in the living room. She pivoted on her heel and began helping her mom prepare the evening meal.

When she returned, the male's seemed to be having a dull discussion on biking and Jason stood silently in the corner with his hands in his pockets, until Aria handed him a drink. She admired him from afar and nearly jumped when he finally spoke; she was so distracted by his looks, she didn't seem to notice Ezra ask Jason if he was into cycling.

"Um.. some. Yeah, when I first took off from college I did the Kona Coast."

"That's where they have the triathlon, right?" Aria's dad, Byron, asked as he took a long sip of his alcoholic beverage.

"Yeah I wanted to clear my head before coming back here. Riding those lava fields is like being on the moon, you know?" Aria looked down at Jason's words; she knew he was referring to Alison. When Ezra spoke next, Aria glared at him with a look of loathing.

"Intense," Ezra murmured into his glass, his eyes slightly rolling.

"Yeah, that's what I needed." The two men were now having a stare off and the doorbell's loud sound vibrated throughout the house. Aria furrowed her brows, knowing everyone invited was already within the premises. Uncertainly opening the front door, red and blue lights began bouncing off her dress. It was the police.

"Aria." The large man said, nodding his round head.  
"Hi..."

"Are your parents home?" Aria nodded slowly and called for her parents. They rushed toward the door in response.

"Hi, Barry." Ella said, a look of alarm slowly creeping it's way onto her face.

"Sorry to interrupt, but uh, it's about Mike." He had raised a hand as an act of reassurance as the parent's faces became increasingly worried. "He's okay, but we have a situation. It looks like he broke into a house, over on Larson." The conversation continued, but Aria felt too numb to pay attention to the words. She leaned back onto a nearby column and swallowed hard. Jason's hazel eyes met with her own and she quickly closed her eyes.

"Aria. Aria! Please stay here." Her mother urged and exited the home with her husband and the friendly cop bearing the bad news.

"What? Oh, yeah." She nodded and flashed a weak smile at her frowning mother.

Little did Aria know, her brother Mike was not the only human being breaking into a building on this night. Spencer Hastings and Emily Fields quietly crept their way into the DiLaurentis backyard. Spencer had been spying on Jason earlier that evening and was able to locate the hidden key to his large shed that occupied a space in the grassy terrain. It was dark, so the two girl's gripped onto large flashlights as they quickened their pace and twisted the key inside the slot. They looked at one another and pushed open the heavy door. What lay inside caused them to gasp in horror and Emily dramatically dropped her flashlight and backed into a glass vase which instantly shattered. Now in almost complete darkness, the pair could hear strange camera flashes erupting around the room and they hurriedly ran in fear and instantly began dialing Aria. When she did not pick up, the girls began to panic and continued to excessively dial her cell phone.

Meanwhile, Aria found herself running around the house cleaning up the remains of the non-eaten meal and clean dishes. Ezra had attempted to speak to her various times and she flashed him a look of pure annoyance. Therefore, he plopped down onto the cushioned chair in the dining room and watched her clean. The Partha's had left almost the second her parents left, which she was grateful for. Aria was hoping Ezra would also leave, but was unsure if she minded Jason sitting alone in thought in her living room. She grabbed the still warm coffee pot and strolled over to where he sat.

"You want some more?" She nearly whispered, due to him staring into the fireplace so intensely that she wondered if he wanted to be bothered.

"Sure." He held up his pure white mug. "A little."

Aria cast a quick glance in the direction of the kitchen to make sure Ezra was out of earshot before releasing a small sigh and beginning to speak. "Mike promised me he wouldn't do this anymore."

"He probably meant it when he said it." Jason nodded encouragingly and steadily took the coffee pot from Aria's small hands. "Give me that." He then pointed toward the extremely comfortable and plush seat that occupied the space across from his own seat as an invitation. She plopped down and looked up at the ceiling. "Take a deep breath," he said softly and quickly flipped his hair as it began falling into his face.

"He must be so angry with me." Her hands traveled toward her knees as she inhaled, then exhaled a deep breath.

"Why would Mike be angry at _you_?"

"Because... I'm in the middle of this mess with Ian and then my mom and dad. I mean, if it weren't for me he probably would have gotten more attention from my parents."

Jason quickly shook his head and reached for her hand, giving it a small yet helpful squeeze. "No, no, no, trust me. You're not the reason Mike is doing this." He looked into her eyes longingly.

"How do you know what?"

"I know a lot about misplaced guilt. Look, the amount of trouble Mike's in depends on the amount of time's hes done this. I mean, do you have any idea how many places he's broken into?"

Shaking her head, Aria turned her gaze towards the staircase. "Look.. I know this isn't your problem, but would you mind helping me search? I wouldn't be surprised if he kept souvenirs."

Jason shook his head and stood from his seat. "Not at all. Lead the way." Aria smiled weakly and began climbing the staircase, Jason closely behind and passed her own bedroom where her cell phone was buzzing rapidly. After passing a few wooden doors, they finally arrived outside Mike's. Aria slowly entered and bit down on her blood-stained colored lip. Her eyes roamed around the extremely cluttered and messy bedroom and instantly began digging through his items, attempting to search for any sign of suspicious objects. Jason twisted his neck around and began contemplating.

"It would be in an unlikely spot. Somewhere you and your parents wouldn't find it." Aria and Jason both looked directly at the closet and unlatched the door. She rapidly threw random articles of clothing outside of the area and looked up into Jason's bright eyes when she noticed a large bag filled with seemingly useless junk. The pair bent down and began examining the objects and Aria let out a gasp as she held up a peculiar yet familiar candle holder.

"Oh my god! I can't believe he stole from a blind girl." She plopped down onto her wooden floor and tucked a loose strand of hair sprayed curl behind her ear. Jason looked down at her and placed a firm yet reassuring hand upon her shoulder. Aria looked up and their eyes met, but this time neither looked away. Edging closer, it didn't take long for their soft lips to meet the others. They kissed softly for a few moments, before they slowly parted. Suddenly standing, she grabbed a hold of the bag's handle and looked down at Jason. "You better go."

"A – Are you sure?" He whispered and steadily got to his own feet.

"Yeah. Mike will be home soon and I think it's best he doesn't have an audience. Thanks again." She hurried away leaving Jason bewildered.

"Let me know how Mike's doing."

"I'll call." She smiled weakly and headed downstairs to tell Ezra the same thing she told Jason.

Jason and Aria both silently agreed that they wouldn't bother mentioning what had happened in Mike's bedroom... Or would they?


	3. Painkiller

A week later from the rather shockingly eventful dinner party, Aria Montgomery found herself drowning in partial anxiety and partial frustration. Spencer and Emily told her the mysterious news about the sinister photos of herself in Jason's shed, which quite obviously swept an eerie feeling over Aria; however, she was extremely angry that her two best friends had broken into the man's shed without a second thought. Instead of listening to the girl's accusations, Aria planned on confronting Jason herself. Funnily enough, Aria had sent Jason a short message earlier that day to ask him to coffee in order for him to help look over the various photographs of Alison DiLaurentis; there was to be a tribute at the fashion show and Aria was in charge of choosing the images. Little did Jason know, she had a second agenda; she was curious as to if she could jog his memory about the night Alison died; the night he had no recollection of.

Swallowing hard, Aria slowly entered the quaint and dimly lit coffee shop. Her large, doe-like hazel eyes rapidly roamed the room in order to find Jason. Within a few short moments, she managed to spot a man in a leather jacket with dark-blonde hair sitting toward the wall at a small, square table in the corner. Her dark brown boots noisily smacked into the wooden floor as she quickened her pace toward him. He turned his head and opened his mouth, probably to greet her, but her loud voice over-powered his words.

"Why the hell do you have those pictures of me?"

"What?" Jason's brows furrowed and he tilted his head in confusion.

"My friends said they found pictures that you took of me, sleeping." Aria spoke hurriedly and watched Jason cautiously stand from his seat. "How did you even take them? Did you climb a latter and fly through my window, or -"

"Wait, your friends are the one's who broke into my darkroom?"

"So what!" She shouted, her hazel eyes flashing dangerously. "The point is, they found photos! Photos you clearly didn't want found."

To Aria's surprise Jason laughed and shook his head, running a tan hand through his dark-blonde hair. "Man, I swear this town just never changes. People would rather sneak behind your back then ask you a direct question."

"I'm asking you a direct question right now! Why did you take them and when?"

"I didn't. Ali did."

"Why would Ali take pictures of _me_ sleeping?"

"I don't know, I don't know what goes on at slumber parties. Look, I found leftover film inside my house and developed it." Jason looked into her eyes and gave her a firm stare; she suddenly felt the anger slip away from her. "I haven't even been able to purchase a new lock yet and had to move all the expensive equipment into the house. And the prints are currently gone, because I was having them framed. As a gift. For _you._"

Aria felt foolish and incredibly embarrassed; it didn't take long for the warmth to penetrate her now pink face once again. "Oh..."

"So. Anything else you want to accuse me of?" Aria shook her head and Jason re-approached the seat he had occupied before she had began barged into the café. He extended a muscular arm toward the seat opposite him and when Aria hesitated, he jokingly rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. Not still scared of me, are you?"

She chuckled softly and took up Jason's offer, plopping down onto the cushioned and highly comfortable chair. A young waitress who wore her long, bleach blonde hair in a ponytail took the pair's orders and while they patiently waited, Aria delved her arm into her eccentric bag and retrieved her black laptop.

Aria slowly went through various folders of photographs taken throughout the prior years of Alison. As one photo came upon the screen, Jason pointed at it and cocked his head to it's side. "Where was this one taken?" He asked uncertainly.

"I'm not sure. Maybe the Hasting's Lake House?" Aria looked over at him as his eyes roamed around and practically examined the details within the photo. After a few seconds, he let out a small sigh. "Did my mother ask you to do this?"

"What? No!" At his doubtful look, she grinned warmly. "Well, she sort of suggested it. But I didn't _have _to ask you. Why do you ask?"

"Just seems like something she would do."

Tucking a loose strand of dark-brown hair behind her ear, Aria continued and flipped a few images before stopping upon a specific one she had been waiting for; it was of Alison grinning wide, her newly tanned skin practically glowing in the sunlight and her beautiful blonde locks softly flowing in the weak breeze. "This one was taken the day she got back from your Grandma's in Georgia." Giving a slight shake of the head, she released a soft laugh at the memory. "She came right to Emily's."

Jason looked over at Aria as she had a nostalgic moment, then back at the screen. "Use it. She looks happy there."

Aria's eyes narrowed at his response and she looked down slightly. "She went straight home after Emily's to get dinner and then change clothes before Spencer's party in the barn," she began, looking at him intensely and watched him return the gaze with a strange expression.

"Okay..."

"I was just worried if we used an image from the day she disappeared, that -"

"I don't think anybody but you guys would know that."

"Really? What about your mom, or... you."

Jason furrowed his bushy brows slightly and looked Aria up and down. "I don't remember anything from that day."

"No! I – I know that you said that, but I guess I just figured since it was your last meal as a family, that..."

"Aria," Jason's tone was firm as he spoke fast, "Why the hell am I here?"

Letting out a heavy sigh and closing the laptop, Aria shrugged lazily. "I guess I just wanted to make sure there would be no difficulties for your mom."

"My mom and I live on different planets."

"No, I get it. It's just... Jason, you must have _some _memory of that day."

"I don't, okay?" His voice slightly grew louder and Aria jumped slightly at his intense and incredibly frustrated voice. "I already have been interrogated about this the day after her disappearance, with the police. And this is starting to feel a whole hell of a lot like that. And why exactly are you accusing me all of a sudden?"

"I'm not!"

"What exactly is it that you're looking for here?"

"Look, I'm sorry." She looked downward at her feet as the waitress hurried over and soundlessly placed the two disposable coffee cups upon the wooden table. "This was probably just a bad idea."

"You're right. It was." Standing from his seat, Jason grabbed a bag he seemed to have brought with him and began walking away from the scene.

"Jason..." She once again began, but Jason had cut her off.

"Don't sweat it, okay? We all learn from our mistakes. I just won't make this one again." And with that, Jason had disappeared outside the shop. Biting down on her lip, Aria grasped her cup and sipped the steaming substance, before gathering her objects and exiting the shop.

The next night, Aria entered the incredibly cluttered room where the models would be preparing for the fashion show. She placed a bag full of makeup and hair products upon the plain vanity and plopped down onto the cheap chair that instantly caused her to feel uncomfortable. Hanna and Emily had begun setting up at the vanities beside her own, when Spencer bustled into the room and quickly pulled a long, tight black dress over her head. Mona had called out the first group of models, which included Spencer, so Aria hurried over and began fixing any makeup imperfections. Hanna and Emily worked on her partially curled hair, and as Aria pivoted on her heel to grab a tube of mascara, Jason and Jessica DiLaurentis floated into the room and across the burgundy floor. Jessica was about to give a speech and Jason was to accompany her; Aria met with his familiar eyes as he fixed his tie, but he quickly vanished behind the curtains, along with his mother.

The fashion show had been a complete disaster. The girl's enthusiastically strutted along the runway in various dresses, which had been an overall success. However, as Aria stood in front of the large crowd with Hanna, Spencer and Emily for Alison's tribute, it all went downhill; someone had sabotaged the compact disk containing the material for the tribute and replaced all sweet things with horrific comments and evil images. The four girl's looked around in horror; although, nobody was as shocked and upset as Jessica DiLaurentis. Bursting into tears, she tore through the exploding crowd and Jason quickly followed after. After the mayhem finally ended and the friend's talked for a long period of time about the event, Aria ran back into the now empty preparation room in order to gather her object's.

Throwing her supplies into a spacious bag, she suddenly jumped as Noel Kahn had appeared behind her, holding the very disk that had been sabotaged.

"Did you want this back?" Noel had a sort of knowing smirk written across his face and Aria's eyes narrowed. "I'd just hate to leave something along that could get you and your friends in trouble."

"I assume that was yours." Her voice was stern and she quickly glanced toward the door where she had heard footsteps; Jason had returned and was looking on at the scene. Nonchalantly walking toward the two, his eyes stayed focus upon the disk.

"What's that?"

"The unplanned finale," Aria muttered, flashing a furious look toward Noel.

Eye's flashing dangerously, Jason took a step closer in Noel's direction, causing their faces to be only inches apart. "Hand it over."

Noel met Jason's gaze with a careless look and handed him the disk without comment. Jason's face remained expressionless as the disk met his firm hands and quickly snapped the object in half effortlessly.

Slowly walking away, Noel exited out the nearest door and Jason looked down at Aria. She released a fake cough and took the dresses she had worn of Alison's and carefully placed them in bags. "Pretty sure your mom doesn't want _these _back," she muttered, folding her arms and looking down at the now covered clothing. After a few seconds of silence, Aria continued. "How many times do we need to put her away? It's like burying Alison all over again." Jason looked at the back of Aria's head sadly and opened his mouth to speak, but closed it quickly; he didn't want to disturb Aria in her thoughts. "It's like every time we make peace with it, somebody has to go and say something ugly about her death. About her life." She spun on her heels to face him. "When will people move on to gawk at the next tragedy?"

Taking a step toward her, Jason spoke slowly. "Well... If I were a stranger I'd be fascinated by the dark details."

"That's us. Her brother, her friends...we're the dark details." Taking a small step forward, she looked up into his almond-shaped eyes. "Why come back? Why live in _that _house all by yourself? You had a chance to escape, but you didn't take it."

"I wanted to try and put the pieces together." He crossed his toned arms and shrugged. "I was looking for something. And trust me; you can leave Rosewood, but Rosewood will never leave you."

Aria swallowed hard at his words; she knew he was correct about Rosewood verging on haunting, but still had a shred of hope of one day making it out of this damn town alive. "You still don't know who wrote that note?"

Jason looked at her and quickly turned his gaze toward the front entrance. "Look, from now on I have to figure out how to be happy. I'd like to do that here." The way Jason looked at Aria, made her feel as if he were referring to her, but it couldn't be... could it?

"Um... Can I drive you somewhere?"

Aria contemplated his offer and then nodded firmly. "Yeah. I could use a ride home." As Jason walked past her in order to retrieve the dresses, their arms grazed against the others and her body slightly pressed against his. Throwing the rest of the materials in her bag, she swung it over her shoulder and followed him out the door.

Jason drove his extremely shiny vehicle at an average pace along the smooth, winding road. Aria's hair playfully flung around in the strong wind and she smiled to herself as the bright moonlight illuminated onto her plain, black attire. Considering Aria lived a short amount of time away from the theater, the pair arrived outside her dark victorian home in minutes. Before she could mutter a 'thank-you' and exit the car, Jason began to speak.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" He spoke softly, but did not look at her. Spinning around in his seat, he delved a hand into the backseat and retrieved a few pictures frames that were stacked upon one another. As Aria nodded, he handed her the beautiful black and white images, which caused her hazel eyes to widen.

"Oh, wow.. These are beautiful."

"Yeah. I didn't know Alison was so artistic." He shrugged nonchalantly and looked at her. "How's Mike doing?"

"I wouldn't know. He hasn't left his bedroom in days." Releasing a heavy sigh, a frown crept upon Aria's face and she looked downward.

"The truth is, I do care about your brother, but..." He gently touched her hand and she looked up into his handsome face. "I also care about you. And I wanted to tell you in the off chance that you might feel the same way." Aria swallowed hard and felt herself grow warm in the face. They just stared at one another for a moment, before Jason gently pulled her chin upward and softly placed his lips against hers. They kissed one another slowly for a few seconds, before they parted. Jason's eyes roamed downward, but Aria cupped his face and their lips once again met; however, they intensified and quickened the kiss. She could feel him smile on her lips, and couldn't help but return the gesture. The minutes passed and it wasn't until the front door of Aria's house slammed shut that they parted for the evening. He offered to help her bring the supplies inside, but she declined; it was getting rather late and her family had been home. Flashing a quick but warm smile goodbye, she exited the car while gripping onto her materials before entering the strangely quiet house.

"Do you really think Noel Kahn was the one who replaced the original with the copy?" Emily whispered to Aria at her own locker the next morning.

"It had to be someone at that fashion show. Nobody else had access. And he looked really suspicious when Jason questioned him after the show."

At that moment, Jason slowly passed the two while listening to a younger boy Aria did not recognize. He grinned and gave a small wave in Aria's direction and Emily's brow raised.

"Why is Jason waving over here?"

"What? Oh, well, he did have dinner at my house that one night. Maybe he's just trying to be friendly." Aria's face reddened quickly and Emily furrowed her brows.

"Did something happen at this dinner party or something that you didn't tell us?"

"No!" Aria whispered, a little too quickly.

"Then why are you blushing?"

"I – I... I had a dream about him last week."

"What happened in this _dream _apparently?"

Aria looked down as she lied to her best friend; although it wasn't a complete lie. She had a sexual dream about Jason a few week's ago, but was certainly not going to mention the kiss – any of the kisses, quite yet. "We were in bed, we were naked and...well, it's not exactly science, Emily."

"What? Oh my god, Aria!" Emily shouted and a few nearby students looked at the pair curiously. "Look, I can see why you find him attractive. He's mysterious and broken and we all know how much _you_ love to fix things. But he's dangerous! You're playing with fire."

Swallowing hard, Aria avoided her eyes. "It was just a dream, alright?" she snapped and folded her arms.

"Just promise me you'll stay away from him. Besides, you have Ezra."

Aria had forgotten she had also told her friends that her conversation with her ex-boyfriend and English teacher went well. "Right... Yeah."

**Song: Painkiller – Three Days Grace.**

**The previous chapter's both included songs from the band Nirvana.**

**Next time on Jaria – What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been: **Aria and Jason begin seeing each other more often; this time, on purpose. Slowly progressing toward a relationship, it will quickly face problems due to -A getting in the way and Jason not wanting to be her dirty little secret. Also, Jason gives Aria an old artifact of Alison's full of revealing objects. Later on, Ella Montgomery shares some shocking news with Aria and Jason deals with a surprise visit from his ex-girlfriend, Cece Drake.

****I apologize for the shortened chapter! Will update a new, longer chapter very soon. Also, a huge thank-you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and followed!****


	4. Dirty Little Secret

Aria Montgomery had awoken the next morning with a start. Aria had a peculiar nightmare involving the night her best friend, Alison DiLaurentis, had went missing and was supposedly murdered. Sweat dripped down her round, pale face and she had an awful headache as she raised her heavy-head and looked at the small, espresso colored nightstand that inhabited the space next to her bed where her phone was brightly lit due to receiving a text message. She sleepily extended her pasty arm and grabbed a hold of the device and read the message; it had been from Jason DiLaurentis. The impact of seeing his name caused her heart to race rapidly and a large grin to spread across her face. The pain in her head had been long forgotten by the time her eyes met the end of the message. "Come over my place tonight? We can watch old movies and order pizza. My treat. -Jason." Aria quickly typed to confirm the date and practically jumped out of bed in excitement.

Aria had spent the majority of the school day staring at the circular clock located above the classroom door during each lesson in anticipation. Friday always seemed to drag on, but this day in particular was going at an extremely slow pace. When the final bell rang, she rushed home and began throwing together a gorgeous attire; a silky, plaid dress that met right above her pale colorless knees and greatly showed off any curves she owned. Following the dress, she added plain, midnight black knee-high socks, a few accessories along with her nearly brand new combat boots that pulled the outfit together completely. Flashing herself an encouraging smile, she swung her eccentric bag filled with randomized objects over her arm and slowly entered her cobalt blue car. Starting the ignition, she pulled out of the pebbled driveway and cautiously drove along the smooth, winding road. Within moments, Aria had arrived outside the DiLaurentis household, where Jason sat upon the porch steps reading a familiar book.

She raised a brow as she exited the car, grasping her bag to her side and walking along the cobbled path leading up to the dark, victorian home that was deadly silent. Aria stopped in front of Jason and he stood from his seat upon the wooden step.

"You're reading Lolita? That's surprising." She chuckled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her small ear and taking a few steps in order to be level with the handsome man.

"I found it in one of Alison's old boxes. I was cleaning out the attic and garage and came across it. I recall her never letting this piece of literature out of her sight." Jason walked toward the dark-brown wooden door and held it open, allowing Aria to enter. She slowly entered, her eyes roaming around the once familiar residence. He nonchalantly followed and tossed the book upon an empty, plush chair that occupied the dark corner within the living room.

"Wow... It sure is strange being back here. In this house." Aria's eyes analyzed the scene and recognized many of the objects; however, it seemed as if Jason remodeled a bit and bought new pieces of furniture. He watched her curiously and gave a small nod, before entering the brightly lit kitchen.

"I actually have a surprise for you." He extended a long arm into a nearby cabinet and retrieved a small yet peculiar and carved wooden boxed that looked absolutely stunning under the harsh lighting. She cocked her head to it's side for a moment, surprised at such a random gift."It was Alison's," Jason stated, in response to her confused facial expression."I thought you'd make much more use out of it than I ever would." Shrugging, he opened the black, shiny refrigerator and examined it's contents. "Did you want anything to eat or drink?"

"No.. thank you. Not just for the offer, but for this." Aria held up the box; in her mind, she thought of the endless possibilities of objects that Alison would keep inside the secretive wooden box and how it could be incredibly useful it regards to who killed her or even who was the person harassing the girls. "D – Did you look inside?" She slowly spoke, wondering if she should examine the container's contents without him present.

"Yeah. It's actually where I found the film of you sleeping." Jason shrugged nonchalantly. "It's mainly filled with insignificant girl crap, but I thought you might enjoy it." He retrieved an ice cold water bottle, twisted the cap and slowly slurped the substance. "It's funny, it's almost as if it were hidden. I wasn't exactly close with Alison, but I never once saw that box before." Aria bit down on her plump, blood-red lip hard and recalled the quote Ali had used the summer she had disappeared; _"When I hide something, it stays hidden. Until I want it found." _She shivered slightly, as the thought had been so vivid, it was almost as if Alison herself had just said it aloud. "Listen," Jason continued, "Why don't I go order the pizza, while you make what you will of _that._" With that, Aria watched Jason disappear into the living room.

The second Aria opened the box, she silently agreed with Jason that the object merely contained insignificant girly items; her eyes roamed around the space and examined some old costume jewelry, some quirky trinkets and an extremely tattered doll that strikingly resembled Alison herself. She let out a loud sigh, unsure if she should be relieved or disappointed. She brought the heavy item into her soft hands and exited through the same door Jason had only minutes ago. Aria found him placing an old Alfred Hitchcock film into the DVD player and smiled warmly as she plopped down onto the sofa. "Hope you're alright with 'Psycho.'"

"Of course. It's a classic." Jason grinned toothily at Aria's response as he slowly sat down next to her and the black and white film began flashing across the screen. As Jason met the couch, the wooden box slipped from Aria's small hands and hit the floor hard. The contents scattered and the pale head that once lay effortlessly upon the dolls head rolled off across the carpet. The pair bent down and began carefully placing the objects back into their home when Jason cocked his head to it's side. "Well, there's something Alison didn't want found." He extended his tan arm and grasped onto two objects she could not see. Opening his large hand, the objects were revealed to be a small crumbled up piece of paper and an extraordinary necklace that appeared to be incredibly expensive. They seemed to have rolled their way out of the doll's broken head. "Does this mean anything to you?" As he held up the beautiful necklace, the sapphire glimmered in the lighting.

"I've never seen it... There's no way Ali could afford that!" She eyed the object suspiciously but felt more curiosity on what was written on the piece of paper. As Jason continued to focus on the necklace, Aria slowly reached for the withered paper and sneakily read it. Her hazel eyes widened before she quickly stuffed the item into her plaid pocket. To Aria's knowledge, Jason had no clue of -A's existence, and getting him involved now could be dangerous.

An hour later, Aria found herself tucked comfortably under a fluffy, burgundy blanket and wrapped tightly in Jason's arms as they watched the vintage film. At a rather slowly moving scene, Jason looked down at Aria and stroked her dark-brown hair gently, before speaking. "I heard Rosewood is holding some sort of Yule Ball in celebration of winter next month."

"Spencer mentioned it. Of course, she's on the committee," Aria smirked at Spencer's extensive need to participate in nearly everything. "It's on Christmas Eve."

"Yeah..." Jason pulled Aria closer and flirtatiously began playing with her soft, mocha-colored hair. "I was thinking we'd go. You know, together." Aria slowly moved upward and looked at him. "I'm not much for dances or anything, but I think it could be pretty cool."

"Jason.. My friends.." Aria looked down and swallowed hard and Jason cocked his head to it's side and slowly raised himself.

"What about your friends?" he snapped, casting Aria a harsh stare.

"They're under the impression I'm still with Ezra. I'm not saying I don't want to go with you, but I just can't. The girls would kill - "

"Why the fuck do you care so much about what they think? What am I, just your dirty little secret? Is this some sort of game to you?" Jason raised his bushy brows and stood from the sofa.

"What? Jason, no!" Aria mirrored Jason's previous actions and found herself on her feet. "I'm not ashamed of you or anything, if that's what you're thinking. Isn't me being here, right now, enough?"

"Of course. But we can't start a successful relationship like this. Or was I wrong to think _this_ was becoming something serious?"

"You weren't wrong, but... Look, maybe I should just go." Jason extended an arm to stop her, but she had already vanished out of the door.

Pulling back into her familiar driveway, Aria huffed and once again bit down on her plump lip as she tucked a strand of hair behind her tiny ear. "Dammit," she muttered under her breath. Swinging the bag over her shoulder and exiting the car, she rushed up the wooden porch steps and entered her own victorian home. "Mom? Dad? Mike?"

"In here!" Ella Montgomery's sweet voice filled Aria's ears as she climbed the staircase and entered her beautifully decorated vintage style bedroom, where her mother sat patiently on the daybed with her hands folded.

"Mom? What – What's going on?"

"It's your father. He's gone. And he isn't coming back. At least not for awhile."

"What?" Aria's large eyes widened. "Is everything alright?"

"He's fine. Better than fine, actually." Ella smiled weakly and gently tugged on Aria's arm, causing her to plop down beside her.

"Mom... I thought you guys worked everything out! _You _just moved back in!"

"Love is like a sin, honey." She grabbed onto Aria's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Meredith is pregnant. And she claims it's your father's."

"Excuse me?" Aria jumped from the bed. "I thought they were over with? And what do you mean by "claims?""

"I know it's difficult for you to understand... But sometimes we all do things we aren't proud of." Aria gulped thinking of not only Jason, but also her prior relationship with former English teacher, Ezra Fitz. "And by claims, I mean it hasn't been exactly proven. But they both seem sure it's the only possible explanation -" Aria angrily ushered out of the bedroom before her mother could even finish her sentence.

Meanwhile, Jason found himself watching the ending of Psycho. The doorbell had rung and he was expecting Aria, but was incredibly surprised to find her ex-girlfriend, Cece Drake, standing with a large smirk across her strikingly beautiful face on his dark doorstep. "Long time, no see." Not waiting for an invitation, Cece pushed past Jason and entered the residence. Jason's eyes narrowed as he closed the door. "You've been avoiding me, Jason."

"Does that surprise you?" He folded his muscular arms and looked down at the woman.

"No. Not really." She flipped her perfectly curled, golden-blonde hair over her shoulder and tilted her head slightly to it's side.

"What do you want?"

"I just wanted to check in. I was worried about you. You know everything you've been through in the past couple of years..." She released a seemingly fake sigh and extended her own tanned arm. Jason had only just noticed she had a magnificently carved wooden box within her clutch. Cece carefully placed it upon the nearest coffee table. "It was Alison's. I thought it was about time I return it."

"Is that all?"

"What do you mean?"

"You aren't here looking for an apology?"

"Of course not... You were grieving. Ali and I knew how to find trouble. I get why you may have thought I helped her run away. No one knew that she was..." Cece gulped and looked down at her pale pink colored nails that covered her toes.

"You can say it." Jason leaned against the wall and eyed her.

"Dead."

"Yeah, well it didn't exactly help that you broke up with me the next fucking day."

"I had my reasons..."

"You care to explain?"

"I don't think you really want me to do that."

Jason chuckled darkly and shook his head in disbelief. "You and Alison... always playing people. Well, you two really deserve each other, you know that? You just didn't care who you hurt, did you? The moment she met you, she took a step back from the rest of us. She was just a kid playing games, until you came along and made her take it up a level."

"I'd watch out if I were you, Jason. Somebody's always watching." Cece pursed her lips and slowly began toward the door. "By the way, you should watch who you trust. I learned more about you in that stupid fucking box than I ever learned from you yourself." And with that, Cece had disappeared behind the wooden door. Jason furrowed his brows and sprinted toward the box still inhabiting his coffee table. The second it opened, cheerful music filled his ears and he picked up a tattered looking envelope. The address revealed the sender to be... Peter Hastings? His eyes began erratically rolling over the words throughout the letter.

_Alison, you better keep your fucking promise. The five-thousand dollars will be given tomorrow night at Winesburg's Park. Yes, it is all true. Jason is my son. I had an affair with your mother around the same time I married my wife and she got pregnant with Melissa. I've been consistently paying your mother child support under the table for years. No, Spencer does not know this information and if she finds out, I know you're the one who fucking told her. Jason can never know. It would bring hell to my house and I will not have that. _

Jason couldn't even finish the letter – he felt sick to his stomach. The letter fell from his hands and he slowly flopped onto the sofa, his mouth wide from shock. Peter Hastings was his real father... Spencer was his half-sister... and Alison fucking knew. He couldn't even bare to finish looking through the box's contents. Swallowing hard, he placed his head in his hands and shook his head in disbelief various times, before shoving a lamp off the mahogany end-table that sat beside him. The doorbell echoed off the walls once again and Jason figured it was Aria this time. He cracked open the door and revealed his guess to be correct; Aria herself looked extremely aggravated as well as upset, but it all vanished once she recognized the expression on his face. She pushed open the door and threw her arms around his neck. "You don't need to talk. I understand. I just want you to know, you can when you're ready," she whispered.

Jason nodded firmly and pulled her body close to his. "Same to you."

_**A dimly lit room is shown as a mysterious person in a hoodie is seen looking at two separate photographs; one is a photograph taken outside Ezra Fitz's apartment as he held hands happily with Aria only a few weeks prior and a second taken outside Jason DiLaurentis' house with Aria happily wrapped underneath a blanket and Jason jokingly playing with her hair. Suddenly, the photos are placed on separate ends of a table and a beer bottle is shown flying at the framed image of Jason and Aria. Both items of glass shatter and the image of Aria and Ezra is carefully placed upon a mantel. **_

**Song: Dirty Little Secret – The All American Rejects.**

**Next time on Jaria – What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been: **The title of the next chapter basically says it all: Love, Hate, Sex, Pain.


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